Readers hate them. If they’re not actively blocking them, they’re passively ignoring them. ’Banner blindness’ is the term coined to describe the phenomenon whereby readers fail to even notice the ads on their web pages.

And because readers block and ignore them, advertisers fail to derive much benefit from them either.

Sun Beat: A Solution in Action

LiveMarket is ZEEN101’s solution to this problem, specifically designed for local news and niche publishers – like New York’s Genesee Sun.

It works like this:

The advertiser – say, a local day-spa, pays a weekly fee to the publisher (it could be $5, it could be $10, it could be more). In return, they have unlimited, 24/7 access to an easy-to-use interface that allows them to create and post simple advertisements – for the business itself, for its special events, for its current promotions.

Let’s say that day-spa is running a Make and Take Party on Friday. Every Friday (or any and every day of the week, if they so desire) they can post (and repost) the ad without paying any additional fees.

Each ad displays a simple, clean headline link in a designat

ed space on the publisher’s front page. The most recent post is awarded the top spot and makes its way down the list as other advertisers post.

The headline link takes readers to a landing page where the ad, complete with images (if so desired) and links to the advertiser’s website, is displayed in its entirety. The landing page has a friendly URL and the pages are mobile adaptive and simple.

As a bonus, the Sun Beat main list is also mobile adaptive. When the Genesee Sun is open on a mobile device, the most recent posting appears at the bottom of the screen, independent of the main content. Readers can scroll through the top three postings or close the list down all together. That gives it a further advantage over other forms of advertising which tend to either disappear or completely mangle the page format on mobile devices.

All of this means that the advertiser can reach the right audience at the right time with the right information, without a great deal of notice or preparation. For small or local business without a huge advertising budget or a marketing team on retainer, it’s a fantastic solution.

Now For All The Winning

For publishers, this is a hands-off, recurring revenue stream. You set the monthly fee and just let the advertisers go to town. The LiveMarket platform is capable of supporting hundreds of advertisers.

Advertisers get direct, instant access to your audience without a middle man or an expensive design budget. If a local restaurant has a lunch special, they can post it that same day.

Readers get to see ad content relevant to their community. It’s easily scannable text (which has been proven more effective than complex, visual ads) and it’s posted by real humans in the community which carries social weight that ads frequently lack.

And that’s the digital advertising trifecta: publishers are happy, advertisers are happy, readers are happy.